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Perfectly cut donuts are made with brown butter and vanilla to amp up the flavor. Frosted with white glaze and rainbow sprinkles

Brown Butter & Vanilla Yeast Donuts

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These Brown Butter & Vanilla Donuts are soft, light, airy, and of course incredibly delicious. Made with brown butter and vanilla extract to really amplify the sweet yeasty flavor.

Course Baking
Cuisine American
Keyword brown butter, donuts, fried donuts, vanilla, yeast, yeast donuts
Prep Time 25 minutes
Cook Time 2 minutes
Rising Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 42 minutes
Servings 10 Donuts

Equipment

  • Stand mixer

Ingredients

  • 10 tbsp Unsalted Butter, at room temperature and cut into pieces
  • 1 1/8 cups Whole Milk, warmed to 105°F
  • 1/4 cup Sugar
  • 2 1/4 tsp Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
  • 2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 5 cups (600g) All-Purpose Flour, measured correctly †
  • 1/2 tsp Salt
  • Shortening/oil for frying

Instructions

Making the Donut Dough

  • In a small sauce over medium heat, add butter and bring to a boil. Continue heating over medium heat, constantly stirring until the butter has turned a nutty brown color. It may be hard to see the color if your butter is foaming a lot, so periodically take it off the heat to check the color. Remove from heat, place into a heat proof glass and then into the freezer to cool off for 15-30 minutes. When ready, the butter should still be liquid and just barely warm to the touch.
  • In a measuring cup add warm milk, sugar, and yeast together. Stir together to combine, then allow to sit until it becomes foamy, about 10 minutes. Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour and the salt, and set aside.
  • Add eggs, vanilla, and cooled brown butter to stand mixer, and whisk together to combine. Add bloomed yeast-milk to stand mixer and whisk to combine. Attach the dough hook onto the stand mixer, and place on medium-low speed.
  • Add the flour to the stand mixer, and mix for around 10 minutes for the dough to form. When ready it should be smooth, elastic, and a little bit tacky to the touch. If it is too wet, add more flour in small increments.
  • Transfer dough to a greased large bowl, cover with plastic wrap, then place in a warm area to rise for about an hour, or until the dough is doubled in size.

Cutting, Proofing, & Frying

  • Turn the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and roll out to be between ¼” and ½” thick. Using cookie cutters or a donut cutter (I use a 3.5” cookie cutter with a small 1” donut hole cutter), cut out your donuts, then transfer them onto a parchment lined baking sheet. Ensure there is enough space between each donut to allow for rising room (I typically use 2 baking sheets for this). After all the donuts have been cut, cover the baking sheet with a towel or plastic wrap, then place into a warm place to rise for 15 minutes.
  • Meanwhile, add oil to a large wide pot, such as a Dutch oven, filling it about halfway. Heat the oil over medium-high heat until it reaches between 350°F or 375°F. When ready, carefully place donuts into hot oil, and fry for about 1 ½ minutes per side, or until golden brown. Then place onto paper towel-lined baking sheet to cool off.

Notes

† to measure flour correctly, use a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup, then level off with a straight edge. Do not pack the flour into the cup, or scoop with the measuring cup straight from the bag/container. Alternatively, weigh the flour (1 cup = 120g or 4oz).